Brussels, 10 December 2020
- The core mission of the Interreg Europe project Beyond EDP focused on bringing together 11 regions/municipalities in EU working with corner stones of EU Cohesion Policy – Smart Specialisation Strategies and Entrepreneurial Discovery Processes.
- As part of the Interreg Europe’s public outreach, a final conference marking the project’s conclusion was held online and hosted by EURADA on 10 December 2020. Keynote speeches from Mr. François Bonneau, regional president of Centre Val de Loire (FR), and European Commission Joint Research Centre with Interreg Europe officials actively contributed to the project’s successful promotion, bridging regional politics, policies and practice.
Beyond EDP’s final conference shared what has been learned and achieved collectively since this Interreg Europe project’s beginning in 2016. The project enabled otherwise unconnected European regional policymakers to learn and exchange together over many years. Their primary focus throughout these years has been to analyse the design and implementation of some of the processes that underpin their regions’ approaches to Cohesion Policy (structural funds) use.
Notably, these regions, which are already engaged in and producing Regional Innovation Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3), sought to improve one important aspect that underpins their approach to economic development strategy – the Entrepreneurial Discovery Process.
The Entrepreneurial Discovery Process, defined as critical for the proper implementation of RIS3, is ultimately about inclusion and engagement of local stakeholders embedded in Europe’s regions. These stakeholders include policymakers, the private sector, academia and civil society.
By using this process as a key component part in RIS3, regions with their stakeholders have been able to embark on a ‘selfdiscovery process’ in search of knowledge-intensive areas for potential economic growth. In short, improving the strategies behind the policies affecting economic development, and research and innovation policies.
About EURADA
The European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) was founded in 1992. EURADA is a Brussels based European association gathering people working on economic development through its network of members in 21 European Union countries and beyond. The association connects economic development members, business partners and European authorities. EURADA, as a Beyond EDP project partner, is responsible for communication and advisory services
Esteban Pelayo
T: +32 4833 78008
esteban.pelayo@eurada.org